So many new towns and characters to discover in Netflix’s second season of ‘One Piece’

Also known as the Cactus Island Arc, the Whiskey Peak Arc is the eighth arc of Eiichiro Oda’s seafaring saga, One Piece. The Straw Hats have their Log Pose (Grand Line compass) and are heading for an island that welcomes pirates with open arms, but dark secrets are also at play.

In Oda’s second saga, the Arabasta Saga, the Whiskey Peak Arc is the second arc. The crew of the Going Merry has finally entered the Grand Line. Thanks to the events of the previous arc, Reverse Mountain Arc, they have their hands on a Log Pose, a compass that will help them navigate the Grand Line. With that triumph under their belt, they are directed to the town of Whiskey Peak which is reported to openly welcome pirates and treat them like celebrities. Well, that sounds perfect!

Hidden intentions

Upon arriving at the town, the Straw Hats guests, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday jump off in a hurry, leaving the Straw Hats confused. The residents of the town happily greet the pirate crew and a party ensues in which everyone has a merry old time and gets rather drunk before passing out, everyone except Nami and Zoro that is. Whilst their guard is down, we discover that the town is not, in fact, what it seems as the town leader, Igarappoi, turns out to be an Mr. 8, an agent of the criminal syndicate, Baroque Works. Luckily, with Nami and Zoro only feigning sleep, their surprise attack is thwarted.

The Straw Hats are now embroiled in a confusing game of espionage, with code names flying around everywhere it’s hard to know who is who. The syndicate’s foot soldiers, the Millions, attempt to kill Zoro, though have little luck there as the sword-wielding pirate picks them off easily one by one. He then faces off against Mr. 9, Mr. 8, Miss Wednesday, and Miss Monday (Baroque Works’ men are given numbered code names, women, days of the week). With Luffy brought into the fight, both he and Zoro succesfully take on the criminals.

Double agents… things get really confusing

New agents, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine arrive on the scene to announce that their leader, Mr. 0, has discovered spies within the syndicate. The spies are none other than Mr. 8 and Miss Wednesday, who turns out to be Igaram and Princess Nefertati Vivi of the Arabaster kingdom. Now, the pirates whom Princess Vivi was trying to kill are her protectors as Igaram offers a reward of 1,000,000,000 beri to Nami to ensure her safety.

There is a little scuffle between Luffy and Zoro as who is who becomes ever more confusing, but the pair eventually get on the same track after Nami smacks them over the head. Vivi then explains her reasoning for being a double agent, stating that the Baroque Works are trying to take her kingdom from her by inciting a civil war. She also reveals that the leader of the Baroque Works, Mr. 0, is, in fact Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Just by hearing this news, Luffy, Nami and Zoro are placed on Baroque Works hit list.

Igaram offers to become a decoy, dressing as Vivi to lure the agents away, and departs from Whiskey Town on a ship that soon blows up, leaving us all to believe Igaram is deceased. Miss All Sunday, the highest-ranking female for the Baroque Works is waiting for the crew at the Going Merry, her role in all this is confusing as she passed on vital information to Vivi but also revealed Vivi’s true identity. The Straw Hats don’t know what to make of her and they set off in the Going Merry to the next port of call, Garden Island.

New characters to discover

This arc brings us so many characters, most importantly those of Princess Vivi and Miss All Sunday, who we later come to know as Nico Robin. We cannot wait to see who is cast in these roles as they will have a big part to play in the second season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation.